Homeownership

Home Prosperity Fund

Summary

The Home Prosperity Fund (HPF) was established by the Family Housing Fund in 2007 to foster affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income households and families in low and moderate income neighborhoods in the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area by providing loans to local nonprofit organizations, public entities, and development partners, as well as loans to low and moderate income households through programs administered by development partners. The FHFund was uniquely positioned as a housing intermediary to respond quickly to the foreclosure crisis and the corrective investment provided by banks, taking risk in a way that government partners could not. The FHFund’s ability to take on recourse debt provided for scale and efficiency beyond the capacity of individual development partners. The Home Prosperity Fund currently includes a $15 million unrestricted loan pool and $17.9 million in restricted funds.

Partners

Investors in the Home Prosperity Fund include the MacArthur Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, Minnesota Housing, Pohlad Foundation, TCF Bank, Thrivent Foundation, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. The Home Prosperity Fund is governed by a Loan Committee and the Family Housing Fund Board of Directors. The Loan Committee includes expertise from Minnesota Housing, TCF National Bank, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Urban Homeworks, Inc., US Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

Outcomes

Currently, all of the HPF dollars are committed or deployed. As of the end of 2015, Home Prosperity Fund dollars have been used to assist in the acquisition of 481 properties (141 in low-income census tracts) containing 503 units throughout the seven-county metropolitan area. Home Prosperity Fund resources have also assisted 208 households to purchase homes through our development partners. Seventy-six (76) percent of these households are at or below 80 percent of area median income (AMI), including 30 percent at or below 50 percent of area median income. Additionally, 75 percent of buyers are families with children and 65 percent are households of color.

Photo by Scott Streble

“My future plans are woven into this wonderful, cozy home I live in. I am entering my retirement years with confidence that I have the ability to afford to stay. I was given a gift that will be shared with my children and grandchildren.”